Ten technology rich early stage businesses in Wales are a step closer to developing their innovative products and services having secured equity investment from the Development Bank of Wales.

£2.4 million has been secured by ten companies in just ten weeks since the UK went into lockdown. Those to benefit include £625,000 for Flintshire based Reacta Biotech to further develop their diagnostic tool for food allergies. Other investments include:

Swansea-based Armadillo. The £150,000 equity finance will enable the provider of advanced materials to commercialise their electroplating technology.
£400,000 for Cardiff based Digital Asset Services, a provider of insurance services to the crypto currency sector. Trading as Coin Cover, the investment will provide working capital and support further growth.
£300,000 for Cardiff based Bond Digital Health, developer of smartphone tools connecting to lateral flow diagnostic test devices, enabling the company to recruit more staff and work towards a Series A funding round later in the year.
£250,000 for Swansea based Ortharize. Ortharize provides a rewards-based B2B SaaS travel-booking platform and will use the investment to fund business operations.
£250,000 for Newport based Space Forge to build components for the company’s re-usable manufacturing satellites.
£250,000 for Universal Synergistic Holdings. Trading as Hybrisan, the company is based in Neath Port Talbot and will use the investment to scale up production of its anti-microbial products.

Other companies that also received investment from the Development Bank of Wales during the lockdown include Zeal t/a Litelok, manufacturers of specialist anti-theft products, and Journolink, an interactive low-cost SaaS platform enabling SMEs, agencies and business support organisations to manage start-up PR and send out stories to journalists, broadcasters and bloggers. The Development Bank of Wales also increased its shareholding in Hexigone Inhibitors, another producer of advanced materials.

With a specialist team and funding to support technology businesses, the Development Bank of Wales is one of the top five technology investors in the UK according to the Beauhurst Report.

Simon Thelwall Jones, Director of Technology Ventures for the Development Bank of Wales said: “We have boosted our technology investment team again this year and now have 16 dedicated investment professionals making tech investments. That’s a reflection of our commitment to back early stage businesses across the whole of Wales. As the most active investor in tech-rich businesses in Wales we are here to provide patient capital for businesses through seed and later stage equity finance often investing in those businesses for several years.

“Ten deals in ten weeks demonstrates the continued appetite by young technology businesses for timely funding to support the commercialisation and development of their products. From production of prototypes to clinical trials, we are providing equity funding where and when it is most needed to create jobs and develop the next generation of world class businesses that call Wales their home.”